Nelly

Singer and Actress Naturi Naughton was in middle of shooting the fourth season of her hit STARZ show Power when she discovered that she and boyfriend Ben were expecting their first child.

The original member of the now-disbanded girl group 3LW exclusively toldPEOPLE that as soon as she shared the news with the cast and crew, they went into protection mode.

“They’ve been really good at keeping it on the low, but they’re also super excited,” she says. “Omari [Hardwick], who plays my husband, we have kids on the show and he’s like, ‘Now you get to be experiencing motherhood in real life!’ Everyone’s been really supportive.”

Naughton, who is also known for her standout role as “Lil Kim” in the Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious, said she’s been having a good pregnancy so far.

“It’s been a little surreal, but I feel really good, healthy and strong,” she told the magazine.“I feel like being pregnant and entering this new stage has made me stronger and more excited about life in general. Everything seems so much more purposeful.”

The production crew had to be creative about concealing her bump since a pregnancy wasn’t in the script.

“I had maternity jeans they ordered for me, and I do a lot of tops that are peplum-style,” says the New Jersey native who got her start singing in the same church Whitney Houston sang at in her youth. “I was amazed at how un-pregnant I could look.”

She also talked about being a healthy eater but giving into pregnancy cravings.
“I love kale, I love strawberries and pineapples, but I’m not proud of this … I’ve been eating Cup Noodles. I really want salty, spicy things, and Cup Noodles has been really awesome. I haven’t had one since college!”

After being a platinum selling artist, touring alongside Destiny’s Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson, anda solo artist, and having a a stage role on the Tony-award winning play “Hairspray“, roles on Mad Men and the movie Fame a reoccurring role on The Client List opposing Jennifer Love Hewitt, Naughton is prepping for a whole new challenge when her baby arrives in July.

“It’ll just be a great summer to enjoy motherhood and this journey to motherhood,” said Naughton, who is steep in picking out nursery colors and nesting. “It’s a really amazing responsibility, but it’s such a blessing and that to me is worth more than anything I can imagine.”